Doctor visit question

[The motor guy]

I'm switching to a better insurance at the beginning of the month, so I'm curious as to if they find something majorly wrong will the new insurance cover it when it kicks in? I'd also like to switch to a male doctor vs a female as my pcp. Not sure if I can just do that now. I'm also kind of worried that if I go now the insurance may not even cover it.

 

[mclasser]

Call the new insurance company and ask them.

 

[eljefino]

If you don't have a diagnosis now (and even if you do) it'll be covered under the new insurance. This is one of those benefits they've been talking about for years now.

The ins co has a list of doctors they cover-- check on their website when you get your card.

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
If you don't have a diagnosis now (and even if you do) it'll be covered under the new insurance. This is one of those benefits they've been talking about for years now.

The ins co has a list of doctors they cover-- check on their website when you get your card.
+1

 

[Leo99]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
If you don't have a diagnosis now (and even if you do) it'll be covered under the new insurance. This is one of those benefits they've been talking about for years now.

The ins co has a list of doctors they cover-- check on their website when you get your card.


+1 HIPAA ensures coverage for per-existing conditions when switching insurance companies .

 

[Wolf359]

Just make sure you call and make sure they're taking new patients and that they take your insurance. It used to be a problem where some insurers had directories that were out of date. No issues with pre-existing conditions thanks to Obamacare.

 

[JetStar]

Here lately the newest scam is having to make sure that everybody that could possibly bill you is "in network". I saw this on the national news last week, and it has happened to me.

 

[Andrew1972]

Obamacare has a specific clause allowing you to get insurance elsewhere without caveats with pre existing conditions.

 

[The motor guy]

Originally Posted By: madRiver
Obamacare has a specific clause allowing you to get insurance elsewhere without caveats with pre existing conditions.


Isn't Obamacare a special healthcare? Like if I had blue cross blue shield, that's not Obamacare.

 

[Rhymingmechanic]

"Obamacare" is the casual name for a healthcare law that set requirements for what the insurance companies themselves (like BC/Blue Shield) have to cover. The law also set up the healthcare "exchanges" you have probably heard about, which are places to buy an individual plan from a participating company if you don't get coverage from an employer.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
Originally Posted By: madRiver
Obamacare has a specific clause allowing you to get insurance elsewhere without caveats with pre existing conditions.


Isn't Obamacare a special healthcare? Like if I had blue cross blue shield, that's not Obamacare.


Obamacare is the name of the Affordable Care Act which passed many laws that govern insurance companies nationally. It doesn't matter if you get your plan on the exchange or through your employer, they're all bound by the law and one of them is no exclusion for pre-existing conditions. I think most people that hated it didn't understand what it did or didn't do. It mandated a lot of coverage that wasn't there before, but if you get more, you have to pay more. So the healthy people left and the sick stayed so the prices went up even more.

 

[The motor guy]

I see. Yeah I found you just have to get away from the household name insurance companies and the rates are pretty affordable. It's just a matter of looking around. Not sure why blue cross blue shield is so expensive, Supposedly they lost like 200 million dollars a few years ago when all this was being put together. That may not be accurate, but I know they upped my rate by like 100 dollars a month. I thought you were locked in until the next year, but I guess not.

 

[Alfred_B]

Originally Posted By: Leo99
Originally Posted By: eljefino
If you don't have a diagnosis now (and even if you do) it'll be covered under the new insurance. This is one of those benefits they've been talking about for years now.

The ins co has a list of doctors they cover-- check on their website when you get your card.


+1 HIPAA ensures coverage for per-existing conditions when switching insurance companies .


Not HIPAA but ACA/Obamacare ensures coverage for pre-existing conditions (HIPAA is for health information confidentiality).

With the new administration and the repeal of ACA, who knows what will happen.

 

[The motor guy]

Originally Posted By: Alfred_B
Originally Posted By: Leo99
Originally Posted By: eljefino
If you don't have a diagnosis now (and even if you do) it'll be covered under the new insurance. This is one of those benefits they've been talking about for years now.

The ins co has a list of doctors they cover-- check on their website when you get your card.


+1 HIPAA ensures coverage for per-existing conditions when switching insurance companies .


Not HIPAA but ACA/Obamacare ensures coverage for pre-existing conditions (HIPAA is for health information confidentiality).

With the new administration and the repeal of ACA, who knows what will happen.



I finally got the best insurance I've ever had in my life. As much complaining as I've heard about Obama and everything it sounds like maybe he really did some good on this affordable care act. I think it just took a little while for the insurance companies to adjust to it. All you have to do is call the marketplace and they'll set you up with what you want.

It's funny because the insurance company tells you to call them thinking you're going to use them and then the marketplace starts showing you all these plans that are half the price and way better. lol Now next year i'll know what to do instead of doing the runaround with the health insurance people, but I'm sure it will be changed again.

 

[jimbrewer]

Under Obamacare you are covered from day one.

That's possible because of the highly unpopular insurance mandate.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted By: jimbrewer
Under Obamacare you are covered from day one.

That's possible because of the highly unpopular insurance mandate.


It's possible because of the ACA. The insurance mandate is just part of the ACA. It actually has no teeth, congress specifically said that the IRS can't use it's normal enforcement ability to collect the penalty, but if you're owed a refund they can deduct it from the refund. Otherwise if you don't pay it, they have no legal means to enforce you to pay it like they normally do like throwing you in jail, liens etc. With the president trying to weaken it, he'll probably make it even easier to get a waiver.